kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 16, 2019 (edited) Hello everybody, I just returned from a 3 week trip to Indonesia. My first week was spent in Lembeh with NAD Lembeh and had the opportunity to go on my first black water dives. Needless to say I quickly became addicted and didnt miss any dives. A quick review of my experience with NAD Lembeh. I will echo most of the reviews I have seen on the website regarding my experience, it was phenomenal. Although this was my first trip to Lembeh and thus have nothing else to compare it to I will say that I will not be staying anywhere else during any future visits. I had a nice room by the beach, bed was very comfortable and AC worked to perfection. The food was fantastic, and they were very accommodating since I am vegetarian. The dive boats are great with ample room for all on board. The staff carry all your equipment to and from the dive boat and set it up, including the camera. The camera room was very ample with lots of charging space. There are computers to edit/post but I did not take advantage of this service. Since I was in a room by myself I had my own dive guide/buddy/photographic assistant which was Andri. He was great, very patient and never in any rush to move on. It didnt matter whether we spent 30 seconds or 30 minutes in a subject there was never any rush. Here are a few shots taken during black water. Critique highly encouraged. Many more to come including during regular dives. Many more posted on Flickr. Larval wonderpus Blackwater-2 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Blackwater-2 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval mimic octopus, maybe? blackwater-7 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr blackwater (1 of 1) by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval long arm octopus blackwater (1 of 1)-5 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval Long Arm Octopus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr blackwater (1 of 1)-6 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Edited September 17, 2019 by kdgonzalez 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 16, 2019 (edited) female paper nautilus/Argonaut riding plastic trash. Although I did see many riding their normal jellyfish, this one made me sad considering the amount of trash we are putting into the world and our oceans. Female Paper Nautilus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr paper nautilus/argonaut with plastic trash by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Female Paper Nautilus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Edited September 16, 2019 by kdgonzalez 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimG 62 Posted September 16, 2019 Lovely images! Well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troporobo 235 Posted September 16, 2019 Excellent images. Tell us about your lighting setup, it produced fantastic results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 17, 2019 (edited) Hi Troporobo I use a pair of YSD2. Speaking to a lot of other photographers during this trip they had either tried the YSD2 or knew of someone who had tried them with pretty poor results. Although the complaints seem to be with support if something goes wrong rather than the actual strobe. For what its worth when I first purchased my strobe one was firing without a flash trigger and it was replaced within a week by Sea and Sea. The strobes were set up above the port, about 2 and 10 oclock position and close to the housing, almost to the point of touching it since most subjects are less than 1 foot from the port. I was shooting at +0.7-1.5 EV on both strobes. I use a sola red 1200 for a modeling/focus light. Edited September 17, 2019 by kdgonzalez Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tutup 0 Posted September 17, 2019 Wonderful pictures. How do you like the YS D2s performance wise? I am asking behause you mentioned „poor results“ or was this just concerning support? Looking at your pictures performance is pretty good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 17, 2019 Hi Tutup, For what its worth I have had a great experience with my YSD2. The complaints that I had heard was that if something goes wrong with the strobe customer service was a nightmare to deal with; however, this was explicitly customer service in Japan. One of my YSD2 was firing without a trigger right after I bought it, probably less than 1 month. I contacted US customer service and I had a replacement not a repair within 1 week. My personal experience with customer service has been exemplary. The YSD2 perform optimally for me and I highly recommend them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tutup 0 Posted September 17, 2019 Hi Karyll, thanks for the feedback. I was undecided between the YS-D2s and the upcoming Retras. But for travelling the Sea&Seas are not as heavy and what I read so far, the YS-D2Js appear to be a lot more reliable compared to former models.. Guess I will give them a try finally. Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 17, 2019 a few more nautilus pics. These were riding their normal jellies rather than trash paper nautilus/argonaut on jelly by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr paper nautilus/argonaut on jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr paper nautilus/argonaut on jelly by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drwatson 3 Posted September 18, 2019 These are awesome! I cannot wait to try blackwater!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 18, 2019 diminuative paper nautilus/argonauts. these guys are dwarfs in comparison to the large females male paper nautilus/argonaut on jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr male paper nautilus/argonaut on jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 23, 2019 Unknown octopus species Octopus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Octopus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr octopus sp by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr octopus sp by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted September 29, 2019 cardinalfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Double ended pipefish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Flounder by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Jack in jelly by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troporobo 235 Posted September 29, 2019 These are all wonderful, but I find the cardinalfish and pipefish images spectacular. Again, well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
errbrr 73 Posted October 2, 2019 So many amazing shots - well done! I love the flounder, and the second shot of the long arm octopus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.Sven 0 Posted October 4, 2019 Fantastic photos! Did you do all the dives in the strait? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted October 4, 2019 On 10/1/2019 at 8:01 PM, errbrr said: So many amazing shots - well done! I love the flounder, and the second shot of the long arm octopus. yes. they were all shot in Lembeh strait Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SharkGuy243 1 Posted October 10, 2019 Amazing shots, thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted October 24, 2019 Feeding squid by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr OceanArt2019-1-17 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Juvenile fish hiding in jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Juvenile fish hiding in jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval eel by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr snapper by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr blackwater-1 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted October 28, 2019 I was fortunate enough that one of my images was selected as a finalist for the Santi Photo Awards. The winner is selected by popular vote. Would appreciate your support. http://contest.santidiving.com/ paper nautilus/argonaut riding jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Architeuthis 118 Posted October 28, 2019 Hi Gonzales, Beautiful photos... Can you please state which camera,lens, extension and domeport was used? Wolfgang Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
errbrr 73 Posted October 28, 2019 It is a beautiful shot. I would strongly suggest entering some of these into "real" photo competitions with judges, instead of popularity contests won by those with the most facebook friends. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdgonzalez 36 Posted October 28, 2019 nikon d7200 w/ nikon 60mm lens. nauticam housing and port Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellebelle 0 Posted November 11, 2019 OH MY ! THESE ARE INCREDIBLE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
